#MeToo on Campus: Title IX, Sexual Assault, and the Trump Administration

Sponsored by: N.Y.U. Law’s Intellectual Life Fund, the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Network, the Women of Color Collective, Law Women, and N.Y.U.’s chapters of If/When/How and the American Constitution Society.

The comment period is over. And the Department of Education’s proposed Title IX regulations, which aim to overhaul and unify school response to sexual assault, return to Education Secretary Betsy Devos for analysis and edits. Heralded as a chance to provide “clarity for schools, support for survivors, and due process rights for all,” the new regulations are the first of their kind. They transform Obama-era “guidance” into official regulations, federalize school response to sexual assault, and legally define sexual assault in school investigations. The regulations also heighten due process procedures for the accused while at the same time limit Title IX investigations to on-campus incidents or school-sponsored events. Not everyone agrees with the direction of the proposed regulations. For some, the regulations threaten the safety of sexually assaulted students. For others, the regulations protect innocent students by establishing clear and fair procedures.

On March 13, the N.Y.U. Journal of Legislation & Public Policy invites you to take stock of the new regulations, assess their impact, and envision their future. Will the regulations impede the ability of sexually assaulted students from bringing their claims? Or will the regulations simply provide clear and fair procedures that protect both the accused and the accuser? Should the federal government mandate how schools investigate sexual assault? Or, is there a better way? Please join us in considering these questions during our Spring Symposium on Title IX, Sexual Assault, and the Trump Administration.